Chapter 33

As they made their way through the bustling venue, the thumping music and laughter grew louder with each step.

Neon lights and a sea of people surrounded them, creating a lively atmosphere.

They navigated through the crowd until they reached the second floor, and there they walked through a table with a group of people.

"James! You're finally here!" A girl from the group, as if seeing them, shouted and enthusiastically waved, causing the rest of the group to turn in their direction with interest.

"Yo, cuz! This is my friend and classmate, Edward. Edward, this is my cousin, Cassy, a third-year major in Psychology."

"I see, so you're Edward. It's nice meeting you." Cassy greeted him with stretched hands.

"Nice to meet you too." Edward accepted her handshake with a smile and then joked, "You sure you're James cousin? You two don't look alike at all. I mean, look at him?"

"Pfft! I know, right?"

"Hey! Don't insult me in my presence!"

"..."

Edward and Cassy ignored James and chatted for a while before she led the two of them into their group table and then introduced them briefly.

"Some of you might know him already, but I'll introduce him again for those who don't. This guy here is my cousin, James, and yes, we're really relatives even though we don't look alike at all."

James put on a nonchalant expression on his face, but if one were to look at it carefully, his eyebrows and lips were twitching from annoyance from time to time. "Yo~ wassup!"

"And this handsome guy, Edward, he's Jame's friend and classmate. I don't know much about him, but just by looking at him, he's really cool, don't you think?"

"Hey?" Edward smiled at her introduction and waved casually, but if one were to observe it closely, it could be noticed that he had a triumphant smile directed at James, who was looking at his cousin with a blaming expression for her unfairness.

Soon, Edward and James joined their table, and after quick introductions from others, they joined their conversation.

Laughter and chatter filled the air as they discussed a variety of topics, from college life to their favorite books and movies.

Just when the night couldn't get any more vibrant, a charismatic guy approached their table.

His name was Christian, and to Edward and James's surprise, it turned out that this party was his own.

Well, his birthday party, to be exact.

He greeted everyone with a warm smile and raised his glass for a toast.

"To unforgettable nights and amazing friends!" Christian declared, and the group clinked their glasses in unison, toasting to the occasion.

After some more pleasant exchanges and laughter, Christian excused himself and ventured off to greet other groups that were scattered throughout the bar.

The party continued in full swing, with music pulsating through the venue and friends old and new enjoying the night.

As the night wore on and the group indulged in liquor, their restrictions gradually faded away.

Laughter and camaraderie filled the air, creating an atmosphere of carefree revelry.

Then, just when everyone had enough fun, someone in the group suggested a game to spice things up—Truth or Dare.

The rules were simple, considering there were no suitable bottles to use.

They would choose players one after another in a circular cycle, and each person could decide what kind of questions or dares to assign to the chosen one.

This way, everyone would have a chance to be picked and suggest a dare.

The game began, and the suggestions for questions and dares ranged from funny to daring.

But when it was Edward's turn to choose "dare", James suddenly had an audacious idea and dared him to kiss a girl.

Everyone in the group looked surprised, and even Cassy scolded James for the difficulty of his dare.

"Damn it! James, don't go too far; it's just a game. Why are you giving Edward such a difficult dare?"

But as if the word 'difficult' triggered his inner memory, Edward's eyes lit up, and, to everyone's surprise, he wasn't angry at all. But instead, he laughed heartily and declared that he would accept the challenge.

"What is difficult? Is it difficult? It's not! I could do it!"

"You sure, Edward? I'm just joking around; you don't have to embarrass yourself," James said in a hurry as he regretted making such a harsh dare.

Unfortunately, Edward ignored him, and with a confident grin, he made his way onto the dance floor.

"No way he's serious.?"

"I think he's drunk and doesn't know what he's doing! Should we stop him?"

"Why stop? Let him be. Anyway, who knows if he really succeeds, right?"

Under the watchful eyes of the group, he danced around, playfully bumping into the girls who were dancing around the dance floor.

"Damn! Isn't that sexual harassment?"

"Let's stop him before he does something that he'll regret for the rest of his life!"

"Hiss! Should we run?"

Everyone had worried expressions, but just as they thought something bad would happen, to everyone's surprise, those girls, instead of being angry, playfully laughed at him and even danced with him.

A while later, surrounded by several intoxicated girls, Edward managed to steal a kiss from one of them, and after that, he bid them goodbye under their reluctant eyes.

As he came back to his seat at the group's table, everyone's eyes were on him, and they had gobsmacking expressions and couldn't believe it.

"Hey, cuz, what just happened? Is that trick really working on girls? " James couldn't help but ask in doubt, as such tricks were unheard of.

"I don't know. After all, I'm not in their shoes," Cassy shrugged, appearing confused. Yet, if one were to look closely, her eyes wandered over Edward's body with a heated gaze.

"But you're a psychology major? Do you know the science behind it?" Not satisfied with her cousin's answer, he asked further.

"Hmm, psychology? Well, there's indeed some psychology behind it; most of the girls who came here had a mentality of having fun, and most of the girls on the dancefloor wanted to have some guys approach them, and it happened that Edward was a perfect specimen for those girls."

"I see, I'm going to try it!"

"Wait!"

"Why?"

"I'm saving you from embarrassing yourself; other than the one I mention, there are several factors involved in it, such as timing, microexpression management, rhythm, dancing skills, etc., and you don't have them. If you go there now, the chances of succeeding are basically one in ten thousand."

"Is that really that hard? How did Edward manage to learn them?"

"He didn't learn; he was born with it."

"..."

The two cousins whispered to each other as the game continued as before. However, when it was Edward's turn, they intentionally dared him to do various things...

The next day.

Edward woke up and found himself in his apartment, his body feeling numb and his head pounding from a hangover.

He groaned and tried to sit up, looking around the room with bleary eyes.

His apartment bore all the signs of a wild night, with empty bottles, discarded clothes, and scattered items.

Edward's confusion deepened as he realized he was alone.

"What the heck just happened?" he mumbled to himself, his memories from the previous night hazy at best.

The last thing he could recall was the intense game of Truth or Dare, the vibrant lights, the booming music, and the company of beautiful girls all around him.

But beyond that, everything was a blur.

...

AN: This time, I tried uploading three chapters in a day, and my head felt so dizzy and numb all over. I don't know if I can get used to this kind of feeling.